Explosion
by Casbutt-in-Camelot
Summary: The explosion in the backseat of the Impala nearly cause Dean and Sam to die in a car crash; again. OR- the one in which the Winchesters adopt a baby angel, and three women join their hunter crew
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! So ages ago I posted Explosion, but I've decided to re-write and have another crack at it in a different way- there's still some similarities between the last story and this new one, and I hope you guys like it just the same!**

 **I don't own Supernatural, only the original characters in this fic.**

The explosion in the backseat of the impala nearly caused Dean and Sam to die in a car crash; again.

"What the- Cas?!" Dean yelped, only just swerving back onto the road and avoiding a tree that would've certainly made Baby's hood crumple like paper on impact at such speeds, spitting feathers out of his mouth and swatting them out of his sight as they leisurely floated around his head. He blew several out of his face as he kept driving, praying that there were no cops nearby who would wonder why he was driving in such a weird state. No doubt they'd seen worse, but still; he didn't want to get stopped tonight.

Cas was looking shifty in the back seat, his trench coat bulging at the front as if he'd shoved something down it- that or he'd put on weight and Dean would have to start enforcing diets on him. The angel was very attached to his fast food, and Dean wouldn't have him out of shape when they had monsters to fight.

"Hello Dean, Sam" Cas greeted nervously. Dean was immediately suspicious. He was wearing his 'I'm In Big Trouble' face. Capitals intended.

"Cas, can I ask why the Impala is full of feathers?" Sam asked irritably, spitting a few out of his mouth. Dean was seething as they settled around him, white and blueish and grey, clogging up his car. It would take ages to get them all out, dammit!

"Ah, that would be the fledgling" Cas replied as casually as he could, and Dean watched him shift the lump in his coat through the mirror. Sam turned around.

"The what now?"

Dean pulled into a nearby gas station, still fuming at the sudden feather bomb that had gone off in his pride and joy- they'd had a long day and Dean was always touchy about his Baby, so it was no surprise that he was glaring as he shut off the engine. Both brothers turned around to face the angel in the back, who produced a small ball of feathers from his coat, no bigger than a newborn baby. How that had filled the car with feathers, Dean didn't know, but he was not impressed.

"That's a fledgling?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. Cas sighed.

"In heaven they look much different"

"But we're not in heaven" Dean drawled.

Sam looked at Dean as if to say 'no shit, Sherlock'. Dean rolled his eyes.

"I found this in the hands of a demon. How they got a hold of it I don't know, but heaven is on lock down until we find out- nothing gets in or out. Which means I can't send it back" Cas explained.

"So you're running around with a baby angel in your pocket?" Sam asked "And no one has checked up on that?"

"Oh I've been 'checked up on'; the demons are hunting me as we speak. I think they're trying to use the angel Grace as a weapon, and I can't let that happen" Cas said, and Dean sighed.

"I feel like we're about to be dragged into this" He said. Cas nodded.

"The bunker is the safest place for it" He confirmed.

"How do we look after a baby angel? Isn't there some sort of heavenly protocol for this?" Sam asked, eyeing the feathers warily.

"Only to protect the young at all costs. New Angels are very rare, which is why it's dangerous. The Angel won't be any trouble, I will be here to help-"

"Oh, so you're staying now?" Dean snapped despite himself, and he couldn't ignore Cas' small flinch at the words. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Yes Dean, I am. Remember it wasn't just me pushing for my absence" Cas responded, just as icy.

"What will happen if the Fledgling can't go back to heaven, Cas? It can't stay like that forever, right?" Sam asked, drawing Cas' blue eyes away from Dean's, interrupting their glaring match. The angel sighed.

"I've managed to persuade the Fledgling to adopt a more earthly state; you could assume that for now, it's like an egg, waiting to hatch. Hopefully I can get it back to Heaven before the Grace gets too intense inside the shell that it's built for itself"

"Wait, how did you convince it to do anything? Can it hear you?" Sam asked. Cas' features turned thoughtful.

"Its very hard to explain a Fledgling, it has an understanding of things around it without interacting with them; I managed to make it aware that it was no longer home, and it had to adapt- it chose this form on it's own. If you help me care for it they will know, and they'll make it as easy as possible to manage them"

Dean was outnumbered two to one and he made the drive back to the bunker in stony, defeated silence, whilst Sam smirked and Cas held the ball of feathers like it was spun glass, sitting quietly in the back seat like old times. He was mad at Cas for being away so long, though he couldn't deny that the angel's absence had affected him. He could however, deny to the ends of the earth the reasons why he missed him.

Little victories, he thought.

 **(Sorry its only a short chapter, but they'll be getting longer after this, promise! Send a review if you like it!)**


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, you're back! You missed dinner!" A woman's voice greeted when Dean, Sam and Cas entered the bunker, and from the balcony he spotted Dom, wearing a sundress as usual, beaming up at them. He cheered up a little at the sight of her, her cheerfulness a tad contagious sometimes. Sam certainly looked perkier, and Dean snorted.

"Hey Dom, where's the rest of your squad?" Dean asked, reaching the table she was sat on and ruffling her hair.

"Around- I think Nikita is in the shooting range, Mia is probably taking a nap" She reported, grinning, blue eyes shining as if them coming home was the best part of her day. Considering the kind of life they lead, he wasn't surprised. She was too young for such a hard life, but she found ways to make it better; like being happy the boys had come home unhurt.

"Dean, Sam, who is this?" Cas asked, eyeing Dom carefully. She smiled in greeting, but Dean could see suspicion in the angel's pretty blue eyes. Dom glanced to Dean, who tried to look cheery.

"This, is a whole load of trouble" Dean told him, and Dom punched his arm, hopping off of the table to introduce herself. Her heavy boots made a low thudding sound and she suddenly seemed much shorter stood beside Dean, but his arm throbbed where she hit him so he knew that even with the size difference, she was not someone to be messed with.

"I'm Dom Carter, I'm a hunter, sort of- You must be Castiel! I heard a lot about you from Sam and Dean, I've wanted to meet you for such a long time" She said happily, and Dean sniggered at how even a pissed off Cas was charmed by her, his face sofening a little.  
"Hello Dom. You're accent tells me you're a long way from home" He said, and Dom chuckled.  
"Yeah, there's a story to go with that. Mia and 'Kita should be along soon to say hello; what's that?"  
"This is a fledgling" Cas told her, and Dom stared at the feathers, eyes wide like a cartoon character.

"A baby angel? In there? How did you get hold of that?" She asked excitedly, and Cas smiled wryly.  
"A demon had it I'm afraid; I saved it" He reported, and she took in a sharp breath.

"Wow. Can I … can I hold it?" Dom asked. Cas hesitated, but he seemed to think better of it and carefully placed the fledgling into Dom's ready arms.

"I won't drop it, I've been an Aunt twice now so I know how to hold babies. Oh wow, the Grace is very strong, this will be a powerful angel- they seem to like me, they're glowing bright under those feathers"

Cas' eyes narrowed as Dom spoke, and Dean's widened in alarm. He'd totally forgotten to tell Cas about Dom, about what she was. About how impossible she was. Considering how long they'd spent apart he hadn't even heard about Sam and Dean gaining a few new team members, a totally unexpected but not so bad development. He had a lot to catch up on.  
"You can feel that?" Cas asked, and Dom looked up.

"Yes. Can't you?"  
"Yes, and that's what concerns me; humans can't sense Grace like you just did"  
Dom grinned shiftly. Cas gave Dean and Sam an 'Explain-right-now-or-i'll-smite-you' look.  
"Dom, why don't you grab the girls? They'll want to welcome us home" Sam suggested quietly, and Dom nodded, handing the Fledgling back to Cas before darting away. Cas rounded on Dean and Sam.  
"Explain" He ordered. Dean and Sam exchanged a glance.

"Remember that Nephilim you killed? The only one in the world?" Dean asked, and Cas frowned.

"Far too vividly" He said heavily.

"Well...she wasn't the only one" Sam said nervously.

"Of course she was, Nephilim are extinct-"

"No, they're not. It's a long story, and Dom can't stay focused for long enough to tell us everything in detail; but she is a Nephlim. And Mia, her friend, is one of the most powerful magic users we've encountered, and she's been shielding her from Heaven's eyes"

Cas was silent for a moment, a storm brewing and fading in his eyes. Dean was ready to get all defensive, but Cas seemed to deflate a little. He didn't know what was worse.

"You're housing a witch?" He asked eventually, and Dean sighed.

"Yeah, I didn't think we'd ever reach that point, but Mia helps us out, and we help her. She doesn't hurt anyone" He explained. Cas nodded.

"I would like to meet this witch, and speak with Dom- a Nephilim is so rare, learning about them would be useful"

Sam and Dean nodded, both breathing small sighs of relief.

The girls appeared not a few minutes later; Nikita, her long dark hair in a braid, rocking the traditional plaid and layers of the hunters, followed by Mia, sporting a tank top that left her tattooed arms uncovered; she had sleeves inked with runes and wards and protection symbols, much like Dean's anti demon possession tattoo. Dom followed behind, humming cheerfully as the trio gathered around. Cas eyed them all warily, and they watched him too; Nikita rubbing a scar on her arm, standing out against her dark skin. Dom was smiling as usual, and Mia had an eyebrow raised, her tattoos shifting occasionally.

"So, the angel makes an appearance" Nikita said warmly, brown eyes twinkling "You're just as good-looking as I hoped"

"My vessel is rather Aesthetically pleasing, thank you" Cas replied, and mia snorted as Nikita gave him a once over and winked.

"And all yours too; the poor bastard who was born in it doesn't seem to be in there with you" Mia commented.

"You must be the Witch" Cas said, and Mia nodded proudly.

"That I am; did these two not gush about how amazing and wonderful I am to you? I haven't trained them well enough"  
"Before your head starts growing, we need to give you the run-down on our newest addition. Besides Cas that is" Dean said, and Nikita smirked, ready to no doubt give a comment about how Cas wasn't new to them since Dean wouldn't stop bitching about him, but Dom distracted her by squealing loudly. Dean had a feeling it was to save his ass. He would thank her for that later.

"We have a baby angel in our midst!" She cried joyfully, her long hair swishing as she swayed happily. Nikita eyed Cas suspiciously.

"Can male angels get pregnant? Count me out of that Mpreg bullshit-"

"No, that baby angel, look" Dom ordered, grabbing Nikita's chin and forcing her to look at the ball of feathers in Cas' hands.

"Yes, this is a fledgling, and it was somehow removed from Heaven and ended up in the hands of a demon, until I saved it. Until I can safely return it, it has to stay here where its safe"

"It? Doesn't the angel have a gender?" Mia asked "Seems weird saying 'it'"  
"I'd say it was a girl" Dean mused, and Dom nodded.  
"A girl? Nah, that's a boy right there" Mia said, and Nikita made a noise of agreement.

"Fledglings don't have genders. It's a wave of celestial intent" Castiel insisted.

"Well it will be referred to with female pronouns until it decides it wants to be addressed otherwise" Dom declared. Dean tried not to laugh at Cas' thunderous expression.

"You heard the Nephilim, female she is" Sam chuckled. Cas sighed.  
"Fine. I suggest you all introduce yourself to it- her- so she knows who you are. It will create somewhere safe for her to develop if she knows she's amongst friends. Dean, would you like to be the first?"

"Uh, sure? I just have to hold it right? Because I'm not talking to it"

"Her" Dom corrected. Sam smirked.  
"Her" Dean said. Cas shook his head.

"Just hold her. Here" Cas held out the feathers and Dean arranged his arms in the same way he would when holding a small baby, and Cas placed the fledgling there carefully, hands brushing against Dean's elbows. Maybe it was him, or maybe the fledgling was the one sending small electrical pulses through his skin; but the contact wasn't unpleasant. Nikita snickered quietly and Dean fought the blush from rising to his cheeks.  
"Aw, Daddy Dean, I could cry" Dom sighed, getting up to stand beside Sam, who completely towered over her, but leaned down slightly to talk to her- probably talking shit about Dean. They enjoyed doing that. Dean ignored the cooing at him and observed the feathers in his arms, trying not to glare at them too much. They began to feel warm, as if they'd been bathed in sunlight, and waves of peacefulness began to wash over him.

"Ooh, she likes you" Dom told him. Cas nodded, smiling a soft smile that Dean would never admit made his heart stutter a little. He'd rather put it down to a heart attack from too many greasy diner meals. Anything but feelings.  
"Yes, the Fledgling seems at ease in your arms. That's good news. Sam, would you like to hold her?"

The fledgling was passed around the group carefully, Dom and Cas nearly jumping a foot out of their skins when Sam got hold of her; apparently the fledgling likes sasquatches, and Dom laughed at Sam's humble blush. Nikita petted the feathers like a cat, and Mia cooed just as much as Dom, which didn't make any sense at all. The girl didn't coo; Dean did a double-take at the sound, and the witch glared at him.  
"Shut it you, I like animals" She shot at him. He took a mental note of this to tease her about later.

"So, this is all well and good, but what do we actually do with her? Carry her around everywhere?" Nikita asked, sitting next to Mia on the table and smoothing the feathers over her shoulder. Someone would definitely have to tell her that it wasn't a cat.

"That would be best, so we can keep an eye on her- fledglings are notorious for disappearing when unattended. We can't let her leave the bunker" Castiel said, and Dean sighed.

"Of course they are. Luckily there's six of us to make sure that doesn't happen" He said.

"And I am an excellent finder- so even if this little thing does vanish, we'll get her back again pronto" Dom agreed, and Dean admired her optimism.

"Well that's settled- you guys hungry? There's some left-over mac and cheese with your names on it" Nikita asked, and Dean nodded, following her into the kitchen. They'd had wars over cooking; Nikita went for simple but tasty, whilst Dean liked to take his time with it. Eventually Mia made them organise kitchen rotas, which was really childish (but apparently very necessary, looking back on the food fights they had) and she made them stick to it.

"Well, all those times you told me about your angel, you didn't say just how fit he was" Nikita said as she started heating the mac and cheese.

"You think I notice when a guy is good-looking?" Dean shot back. Nikita snorted.

"Oh Dean, how deep in the closet are you exactly?"

I'm not in any closet, you shut your mouth"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night babe" She replied cheekily, and Dean huffed. Why she felt the need to tease him every five minutes was beyond him; why he let her was also unknown.

"How come he's not been around? You guys seem close, we haven't met him and we've been here for months" She asked. Dean sighed.

"This life is hard. Sharing space constantly, being on the road; fights break out a lot"

"He must really like you if he came back after all this time" Nikita said softly, something like sadness in her eyes. Dean rarely saw that expression on her face, and he wondered what caused it.

"That's the thing with Cas and me; we keep coming back" He said "I don't know why"

"I think I do" Nikita told him, but she didn't elaborate, just served the food onto separate plates and ordered him to take them to the table.


	3. Chapter 3

After eating Mac and Cheese, Cas and Dom vanished off to talk about angel things, whilst Dean decided he'd go to bed after a week of not being there; he missed his memory foam mattress.

"Take the Fledgling with you" Sam said, handing Dean the ball of feathers before he could protest "It will help you sleep"

Dean grumbled about being babied as he made his way to his room, regretting telling Sam about his nightmares; it was natural for a hunter to have a few bad dreams, especially after what they've seen. Sam shouldn't worry so damn much about him. He climbed into bed with a sigh of relief; finally, he was back in his own bed, in his own room in his own home after a long hunt and a strange day, safe from monsters and with his brother and his friends. He set the Fledgling in the nook of his arm and almost instantly waves of calm and drowsiness rolled off of it, sending him off to sleep in no time at all.

Dean woke for the first time in months without any recollection of a nightmare. He stretched, not used to this easy, peaceful wake up after so many restless nights, ready for something to happen to disturb it; the calm before the storm, he supposed. But he lay there for seconds, minutes, and nothing jumped at him, no one came running into his room to tell him that something bad had happened. Dean sat up and ran a hand through his hair, finding the Fledgling on the mattress by his hip, resting against him innocently. He raised an eyebrow.

"Not bad kid" He muttered, picking up the feathers carefully "I'll give you this one"

The feathers didn't reply, and he didn't expect them to, and he headed out of his room ready to grab some breakfast. Voices were already coming from the main room, by the sounds of it Dom was in full nerd mode, which was both amusing and incredibly confusing as a lot of the time Dean couldn't keep up with her rapid excited speaking.

"-would be ten times bigger than normal bugs, as there was more oxygen during the prehistoric ages, so its perfectly plausible that giant man eating bugs have existed" Dom was saying as Dean passed her and Sam, sat next to each other, whilst Mia observed from across the table, booted feet crossed on top of an old book. Her dark hair was messy, growing out on the shaved side after being left for a while. Sometimes she became so focused in her magic stuff that she forgot things like that, but no doubt within a few hours it'd be back to it's regular state.

"You two are the biggest dorks I've ever seen, and Dean is right there" She stated, and Dean scowled. Must she start with the teasing before he had even fully woken up? She could at least give him time to drink a coffee so he could snark back.

"Get your feet off the table" He told her- the best he could come up with after five minutes of conciousness. She rolled her eyes and obliged, tucking her legs under her instead.

"How was your sleep?" Dom asked, reaching out to take the Fledgling, tucking it into her arms happily. The white feathers blended perfectly with her dress, and Dean had to squint to see it again.

"Fine" Dean replied, and Sam smirked knowingly.

"Told you it would help you sleep. Now Cas doesn't have to watch over you any more, bummer

"Weren't you geeking out over dinosaurs with your girlfriend?" He shot back.

Dom wasn't listening, but Sam flushed, looking like he was ready to hit Dean with the volume that was propped open on the table. Mia snickered.

"Go and get your breakfast before he murders you" Mia advised, adding in a low voice "Leave him to flirt like a schoolboy"

Sam fumed in his seat whilst Dean laughed all the way to the kitchen, and his breakfast tasted just that little bit sweeter with victory.

"Hello Dean" Cas greeted, entering the library later that day whilst Dean searched through books; he was researching some stuff on Djiins, as he and Dom had been attacked by one a couple of months back and ended up in the same dream, which he hadn't heard of. Maybe it was a nephilim thing that Dom had gatecrashed his perfect life, and hopefully the Djiins hadn't upgraded and were now offering joint dream states.

"Hey Cas; need something?" He asked, turning the page and scanning for anything useful. He guessed it wasn't majorly important information that he needed to know immediately, but looking at the page gave him an excuse not to look at Cas, and those intense eyes he knew would only trap him like they always did.

"I was just curious about how you met the girls. It seems like I've missed out on a lot whilst I was gone" He said, and Dean was surprised at how...lonely he sounded. Small. Dean closed the book and set it back on the shelf, heading for the table. Cas followed and sat opposite him.

"Well, what do you want to know?" He asked.

"How did you all meet?"

"Well, Sam and I were coming home from a hunt in St Louis one night when a car crashed into us; Being British, Nikita was used to driving on the opposite side of the road, and from fatigue she forgot where she was. We fought and we drove off, and that was that. Then two weeks later we met again in Delaware on a Djiin case. Dom and I were put in the wish-verse thing, and this time I really believed it; I was a hunter still, but Mom was alive, the apocalypse never happened, and you were there and- it was perfect"

"What happened then?" Cas asked softly. Dean chuckled.

"Dom. The Djiin didn't count on a Nephilim, and Dom knew from the start that the perfect life she was living was fake. She managed to end up in my perfect world, and she woke me up. Together we took on the Djiin, and she said if Sam and I wanted a few extra hunters on our side then they were there. Mia came a little while later, on a mermaid case"

"A mermaid Case?" Cas frowned, and Dean nodded.

"Yeah, that one was a little weird. Never go swimming in the lakes in Idaho"

Cas chuckled.

"Seems like you have yourself your own little family" He said, and Dean smiled.

"Yeah, I guess we do. I mean Dom could pass as the child, and Nikita is definitely a wine Mom; and you could be the travelling Uncle" He laughed. Cas looked surprised, and Dean clicked.

"Wait...did you not think you were included in that?" He asked. Cas looked shifty. Dean found himself getting angry.

"I just-"

"You're family Cas. You have been since you came down from heaven spouting your angel crap. Did you really think we would replace you?"

"You practically opened the door for me to leave, Dean! I come back and there's a nephilim here who is just as useful to you as I was, are you surprised I thought that?!"

"Seriously?! I didn't- I was scared, okay?" Dean bellowed.

"Of what?!" Cas shot back.

"Of Losing You!" Dean cried, and Cas seemed to calm at his words "I've spent so long knowing that you and Sam are in danger of getting hurt; if I pushed you away, it would hurt less if- if you got killed"

"Dean" Cas said, and Dean didn't know when they'd shot to their feet, or when Cas had rounded the table, but he was right there, reaching out to him, and Dean felt guilty. Guilty that he'd tried so hard not to care, that he hadn't thought of how it would affect Cas. Cas who had given everything to help Dean; his home, his Grace, his wings, his life; and Dean had told him to hit the road because he was scared.

"I'm sorry" He managed, and Cas patted his shoulder.

"You made a mistake. It was, as you would describe it, a 'Dick move'"

"Why do you keep forgiving me?" Dean asked, in a small voice. Cas smiled.

"For the same reason you pushed me away. I don't want to lose you, either"

Dean hugged him, because that was the only thing he could do as he wasn't great with his words, and Cas chuckled into his shoulder, hesitant at first but then hugging back just as tightly.

"I am sorry. I'm sorry" Dean muttered.

"You always are, Dean. And so am I" Cas replied.


End file.
